US senator urges Biden not to send weapons to Israel

"When Congress returns, I will move Joint Resolutions of Disapproval to block offensive arms sales to Israel.

"But President Biden should act now: Israel is clearly violating U.S. & international law, using starvation as a tool of its all-out war against the Palestinian people," Sanders wrote on X.

His remarks came after a letter, leaked Tuesday, warned Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza in the next 30 days or risk an American arms embargo.

US officials confirmed that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin co-signed a letter that expressed concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

Sanders introduced legislation last month to block the sale of more than $20 billion in US arms sales to Israel, saying that the export of the weapons would violate the criteria laid out in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).

The Senate will vote on the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD) when it reconvenes in November.